A Haunting Past
by diving-chik
Summary: Danny's gang days come back to haunt him when they put Aiden's life in danger. DnA will go on FOREVER! CHAPTER 3 UP!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: NOTHING! I hope my boy Anthony tracks me down with nothing but an email… maybe he'll give me a job…

Plot: Danny's gang days come back to haunt him when they put Aiden in danger.

Pairings: wo0t wo0t go DnA! Maybe a little m/s too, in later chapters… 

A/n: Post "Tanglewood," maybe a little AU. I know I'm late, but I just saw tanglewood YESTERDAY… tear I can't believe I missed Carmine for so long… Oh yeah, and LINDSEY NEVER HAPPENED! MUH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHA! There. Now that that's out of my system…

Danny Messer walked briskly through the C.S.I building, his footsteps making a dull thud. His bright blue eyes darted around, searching desperately. He was concentrating hard. He was on a mission.

Aiden Burn was a hard person to find.

He turned a corner and rammed right into a lab coat clad figure, his glasses flying. After bending down to pick them up, he looked at the person who dared make contact with him while he was so busy. Half expecting to see the dark brown curls that belonged to Aiden, he squinted up.

Damn. It was Chad.

"Sorry," Chad smirked. Funny, it didn't seem that way.

"Yeah, I'm so sure. Hey, you see Aid anywhere?"

Chad merely pointed a thumb behind himself, as if the subject bored him. "That-a way."

Danny was off and running before Chad could dejectedly mutter, "You're welcome…"

Danny found Aiden in the break room cradling a cup of coffee as if it were a child of her own. She stared at the milky contents as if they would reveal her future. She looked so tired, so excluded from the world that Danny almost didn't want to interrupt her. Almost.

Walking into the room, he startled her by yelling, "Ay! Ai-den! We got a body to process. Flack's waiting for us." He rubbed his hands together expectantly then added, somewhat impatiently, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

In response, she glared at him.

"Whoa!" he answered, hands up in a surprised gesture. He looked closer. "You look like crap."

"I feel like crap," she moaned. Sighing, she pushed away her cup of cooling dark roast and stood up, dark eyes closed.

"You're driving," was all she said before she headed out the door, shoes clicking all the way.

Danny stared on in wonder. She must really feel like crap if she was willing to let him drive without putting up a fight of any kind. Without a word, he ducked his head and followed the fierce woman he had grown to admire.

As Danny pulled up to the area surrounded by bright yellow crime scene tape, he casually cast a glance in Aiden's direction. She was absent mindedly twirling her thumbs and staring blankly into the distance, something uncommon for her; she was usually a very alert person. Heaving a sigh, he pulled into the parking lot of the Chinese restaurant, the place where the victim had taken her last breath. 

Reminding Aiden that chivalry was not, in fact, dead, Danny picked up both his and Aiden's kits out of the trunk of his car. Aiden half-smiled appreciatively and they walked together towards Flack, who waited for them, a grimace on his features.

"Whadda we got?" Aiden asked, as the two drew closer to the tall black haired detective.

"419's a female, no I.D, in her early twenties, beaten to death. She was found here an hour ago by the owner of the restaurant behind me." He pointed to an Asian man talking frantically to Mac in front of a shoddy-looking dump with Wok-e-Talkie in bright red letters above a crumbling doorframe. Flack continued. "He came here this afternoon to open up and saw her. He called the cops before you can say," he paused and stared hard at his notes, "Kamikaze?"

Aiden and Danny shared a look. "Ahh, we'll take it from here Flack. Thanks," Aiden said and clapped him on the shoulder as she walked by.

Splayed in what can only be described in as an uncomfortable looking position, the victim looked on, her eyes wide open in fear. She was pretty, but would stay destroyed by the cruel beating for the rest of time. She resembled Aiden so much, it made Danny shiver. Dark bruises were forming on her neck, wrists, and upon closer inspection, her inner thighs. Her loose dark curls that resembled Aiden's were matted with blood. Her skirt was ripped in areas, and her button down shirt had been haphazardly unbuttoned. Her shoes were nowhere in sight.

"Whadda ya think?" Aiden asked, "Someone raped her, then got rid of her?" Her lips were curled up in obvious disgust.

"Sure as hell looks that way," Danny quietly answered. He too was disgusted; this case would be hard on the both of them.

Danny narrowed his eyes, taking in every feature of the woman.

He spotted an unnatural bulge protruding from the victim's cheek and squinted at it.

"Wait a minute. Open her mouth, would ya?"

With only a raise of her thin eyebrows, Aiden reached over the corpse to comply.

Taking a pair of forceps, Danny carefully pulled out a piece of paper. Giving Aiden an "I'm not crazy" look, he de-crumpled the sheet cautiously, so as not to break it, and scanned the information. His eyes grew large, and he sharply inhaled.

"Well, what is it?" Aiden asked, trying to read over Danny's shoulder. He quickly got an evidence bag, placed the piece of paper inside it and stood up.

"Finish processing," he told her, his voice firm. "I gotta go talk to Mac." With that, he was gone to find his boss.

Brows furrowed with curiosity over what Danny wouldn't share with her, Aiden turned around and started to take pictures of the grotesque scene.

"Mac?" Mac looked up to see Danny rushing forward to him, anxiety in his voice. He was waving a piece of paper and trying very hard not to look conspicuous. He was failing.

"Calm down, Danny. Slow down," He said, clearly annoyed, but Danny would have none of it. He seemed to barely notice his own surroundings. 

"Mac, ya gotta read this. Now," Danny said frantically, thrusting the sheet into Mac's face.

Mac glanced at Danny, not knowing whether to be worried or irritated, then started to read the letter.

Hey Danny Boy!

How ya doing? Long time no see! I hear you're one of the boys in blue. Then I bet that you heard that a Tanglewood, Sonny Sassone, is in jail. That's not good. He gets out this month, or your partner, Aiden? Say goodbye. This whore was just a warning. Nice talking to you,

- Tanglewood  
Should I continue? Review and let me know s.v.p! Also, like in everything I do, I'd like to give props to Kiki, or Awesomepossum! She's the most fantastically amazing person I have ever had the ultimate fortune to be associated with! I wish I could possibly be as amazingly talented as she! If I could be a fraction as cool as she is, I would simply die with delirium! Without her, I'm not sure who I'd use as my role model, because nobody else in the entire world can come close to her amazing radiance!11!1!one!1!  
Awesomepossum did not write this last part no matter what you think 

A/N: Jeez… can you tell who my editor is? Lol!

Now push on that little purple button, and make me happy 

Much love, xoxo,

Peeka. Boo?

the diving chick


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys rock! Let's hear it for awesomepossum on the Microsoft Word editing.

Disclaimer: Same as last time. Come on, Anthony, bring it!

--------

Mac sighed. Was there anything else to do?

"Take Aiden back to the station with you and keep her there 'til I get back. I'll get Stella down here to help me finish processing."

Finally calming down, Danny nodded, just a little. He heaved a sigh, and then licked his lips. "I got it covered, Mac." He turned to collect Aiden, when the sound of Mac's voice brought him back.

"Hey, Danny?"

Danny looked at Mac and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Take care of Aiden," Mac said simply.

--------

"Hey, Aid?"

Startled, Aiden looked up to see two piercing blue eyes staring back at her. She glared at him; he had surprised her.

"Yeah?"

"We gotta go. I'll explain on the way."

Narrowing her eyes just a touch, she glanced behind her to see her boss nodding in encouragement. With a slight shrug, Aiden started to pack up her things.

"Don't bother," Danny told her. He fiddled with his glasses for half a second, and then he let his hand drop to his side. Aiden recognized this motion - Danny was nervous. Because Danny didn¡¯t get anxious easily, she complied. Dropping her evidence bag on the ground, she got up slowly, still feeling like crap. She glanced at Mac again, and seeing his stern look, she allowed Danny to lead her to his car.

"What's this about?" Aiden asked as they two of them sped off towards the station. She trusted Danny - possibly with her life - but was naturally curious.

Danny stared at the road as if it were the only thing he could see. He cleared his throat.

"'Member when Mac and Stella worked that Tanglewood case?"

Aiden nodded. Something about that case had unsettled Danny. When he later told her that he nearly became one of them, she had accounted it to that. But by the sound of his voice, now she wasn't so sure.

"We put the bad guy behind bars Aid."

She nodded. "I know. So what does this have to do with anything?"

Danny licked his lips nervously. "Tanglewood got mad. And they, uhh, threatened you."

Aiden lifted a single eyebrow, not fully comprehending.

Danny suddenly felt ashamed; ashamed that his past might interfere with Aiden's future.

"They threatened to kill you."

--------

Stella drove her car up to the yellow police tape and grabbed her kit from the seat next to her.

"Hey Mac. What's going on?" She asked as she neared the stoic man.

Mac silently handed her the note from the victim's mouth, and Stella swallowed hard after reading it. She looked into his eyes, and blue met brown. The moment seemed to last forever, and yet not long enough. She shook her head. Caught up in the moment, she had almost forgotten about her job; keeping the youngest C.S.I safe.

Mac cleared his throat. "Let's acquaint these guys with an interrogation room."

Danny watched from behind glass as Mac and Stella interrogated his one time pal, a Tanglewood member going by the name of "Wolf." Wolf was tall and lanky, with an air of arrogance around him. Danny wondered how he could have ever run with him. From where he stood, he could see Wolf eyeing Stella like a hungry lion, in need of a meal.

"Mr. Mason," Stella began, reading from a case file.

Wolf flinched. "Babe, it's Wolf. Mr. Mason is my no good, dirty pop."

Mac's nasal voice rang out, "Detective Bonasera."

"Whatchou ramblin' on about, man?" Wolf asked, confused.

In his usual calm voice, Mac replied, "Her name is Detective Bonasera."

Wolf just grinned, and leaned back in his chair, shaking his head as if this were a very amusing play.

"Okay, Detective BON-ah-sa-ra," he said, enunciating each and every syllable, "Why'd you haul my ass down here? I'm clean," he said, holding his hands out as if for her to see that his hands, were indeed, clean.

"Did you know this woman?" Stella asked, holding out the picture of the Jane Doe.

Wolf shook his head and whistled. "Nope, but I sure wish I did." And with that, he pushed the picture back to Stella.

Danny turned around to see Aiden walking towards him. Without a word, she joined him in watching the interrogation.

Wolf then got up and tapped against the one way mirror. "Is my homey Danny boy there?" he asked to nobody in particular.

Danny's eyes narrowed. Had he not known better, he would have said that the glass was normal, and not tinted. He could have sworn that Wolf was looking him in the eyes. Beside him, Aiden inhaled softly.

"Mr. Mason," Mac said, his voice growing a warning tone, "if we might continue the questioning?"

But Wolf shook his head. "Not unless Danny and whatsherface ask the questions," he answered. "That girl... that girl Aiden."

Mac shook his head, "I'm sorry, but they're working on another case and that won't be possible," he stated.

Wolf interrupted, "Then I'm outta here. Later, haters." And with that, he was gone.

"Well that went well." Stella broke the silence, her eyes slightly open, and her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Mac sighed. "Let's call it a day."

Stella then did something she didn't usually do. She agreed with Mac.

--------

Aiden stood up from the chair she had been sitting on, thought better of it, and then sat down again. She was going stir crazy from staying at the station. She lifted a hand to run it through her hair and grimaced. She wanted a shower and a change of clothes. It was almost midnight, and the lab was still bustling. Nightshift, she supposed. Tiredly, she wondered if anyone would notice if she left the lab for half an hour. Looking up, she realized that that would not at all be possible.

"How ya doing?" Danny casually asked.

"Been better," she shrugged.

Danny nodded and slung a relaxed arm around her shoulder.

"Me too."

A/N: I know, I know; a really horrible place to end the story. But I had to stop it there because the good part starts soon. Thankee to all who reviewed!

Xoxo,

Peeka. Boo?

(pee ess awesomepossum is still the coolest thing since Long Island Tea.)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I, Peeka. Boo, challenge Anthony Zuiker to track me down with nothing but an email address. I doubt he is reading fan fiction, so for the mean time: They all belong to me. Even Danny in all his sexiness! Muh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha… ha… heh.

A special shout out to all those people who read and reviewed. You guys are the reason that I continued this crazy plot. I lurve you all!

Let us put our hands together for my absolutely amazing editor, Kiki. What would I do without you, my Awesomepossum?

On with the show… fic… shut up.

♥♥♥

Danny awoke with a start, cold sweat dripping from his temples. He turned to find Aiden on the couch beside him, fast asleep. A nightmare, he thought, and nothing more. Shakily, he ran a hand through his now messy hair; the nightmare was a bad one. He had dreamt that Tanglewood had found Aiden… there was more, but he didn't want to think about it. Looking down at himself, he grimaced. He needed a new, un-wrinkled suit from home before work today. Catching a quick glimpse at Aiden, he slowly got up at walked to the door. "I'll be 5 minutes," he promised himself, "5 minutes, tops." After kissing the top of Aiden's head, he set off out the door.

♥♥♥

Sonny paced. He was angry. Very angry. "Why," he asked himself, "am I still in jail?" In a rush of fury, he reached a massive hand above his head and with the rage of a lion brought it smashing down onto the wall. As he looked with relish at his swelling hand he promised himself that he would do everything in his power to hurt Danny Messer. After all, if Danny had really tried to get him out, he would be out by now. Yes, it was decided. He would hurt the thing that Danny loved the most. With that, he got up to call his cronies.

♥♥♥

Aiden awoke to the sound of a siren in the distance. She sighed, rolled over, fell off the couch, and gasped. It took her minute to realize where she was, and after that, why. She figured that she would have found out where she was sooner, if it wasn't for her nasty cold. Looking at the clock on the wall, she figured that she had enough time to go home and change before Danny came back from the shower he was inevitably taking. Aiden smiled to herself. If she knew Danny like the back of her hand (and she did), he would of have promised himself 5 minutes in the shower, only to wind up falling asleep there.

Grinning at the mental picture of Danny in a shower, Aiden walked out of the break room. No one will notice that I'm gone if I'm back before their shift starts, she decided. How wrong she was.

♥♥♥

"Dammit! Damn it all to hell! God freaking dammit!" Danny shouted at the cabbie. "Can't you go any faster?"

"Listen, Bub, traffic is traffic," the cabbie replied.

Danny knew that. All the same, he wanted to hurry. His five minutes were rapidly turning into half an hour. Good thing there was still an hour before shift began. Gradually he leaned back and relaxed. Aiden would be fine.

♥♥♥

Aiden trudged up the steps to her apartment, fatigue weighing down her every footstep. As she struggled to find her keys, she was totally oblivious. Oblivious, that is, that she was being watched.

♥♥♥

Danny stepped into the running shower and let the hot water run down his muscular back. As the water sprayed in the small cubicle, Danny found himself becoming blinded by a thick cloud. Sighing, Danny whipped his glasses off, and stepped out of the shower to place them on the counter. Boy, was he ever tired. He picked up his bar of soap and rubbed it down his washboard abs, creating a ton of bubbles. He closed his eyes, looked up, and concentrated on the hot water flowing down his body.

Danny stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed. He grabbed his clothes, put them on, and threw a bagel into the toaster. As he leaned on the counter waiting for the bagel to become extra crispy, he decided that he would stop by Aiden's apartment to pick up some spare clothes for her. Until this Tanglewood thing blew over, it wouldn't be safe for Aiden to go home. Paranoid, maybe, but this was Aiden that he was talking about. He didn't want to take any chances. As his bagel popped out of the toaster and set off his fire alarm, Danny chuckled, thinking about picking up her clean lingerie.

♥♥♥

A pair of dark eyes watched Aiden as she stumbled into her apartment, too tired to close the door right away. Seizing this opportunity, her assailant rushed forward, pushed his way into the small house and pulled out a knife. Aiden turned around, hair whirling, and saw a black ski mask. Relying on instincts, she fought hard as her attacker wrapped an arm around her neck. She kicked and pushed, but nothing worked. The thug just would not let go.

Her eyes widened in horror as he started to lift her off her feet, seemingly unaware of her futile attempts to free herself from his strong grasp. Aiden had started to scream when he roughly put his hand over her mouth to keep her silent.

"Shut up," he whispered harshly, "or I'll kill Danny,"

She fell silent for only a moment. Aiden knew that the chances of him tracking Danny down were low, and the chances of him killing Danny were lower. It was a proven fact that aggressors usually threaten to kill the ones that you love in attempt to keep you quiet, and very rarely act upon the threat. Knowing this, she ignored him, and continued trying to scream.

Danny walked up to Aiden's room, his spare key twirling lazily on his index finger. As he turned the corner that led to room 4Q, his vision was filled with the one thing that he did not want to see. Aiden's door was wide open, and a struggle could be heard from behind her maroon walls. Finding adrenalin starting to kick in faster than caffeine, Danny rushed to see what was happening in the familiar apartment of Aiden Burn.

Upon arrival at the front door, Danny gasped in panic. Aiden's house was a mess; a vase was overturned with flowers and water everywhere, her futon was slightly askew, and Aiden was in the middle of it, futilely fighting a big man in a black ski mask. Although the man was a quite a bit taller than him, Danny rushed forward, gun ready.

"Drop the knife and step away," Danny said, hoping to the higher deity that his voice wasn't as shaky as it heard to him. The man looked up in surprise; he had not heard anyone enter the living room. Aiden looked up as well, eyes bright, and shouted under the hand muffling her, a sound that Danny assumed to be his name. The man holding Aiden suddenly let go and let her fall to the ground, concentrating on getting to the door. Danny was faster. He put his gun away and tackled the man to the floor, but the masked marvel turned out to be stronger. He heaved Danny off, and madly swung his knife around. Danny moved so that his body was blocking Aiden from danger, and reached for his gun.

"NYPD! Freeze!" Danny shouted at the intruder, hoping that for once, the pathetic attempt to stop criminals would work. However, like every other time, it failed. It miserably failed. In fact, upon hearing that Danny was part of the NYPD, as opposed to Aiden's (incredibly sexy) boyfriend, the perp swung faster, harder. Caught off-guard, Danny helplessly watched as he sped away. Caught for a moment between chasing him, and returning to see Aiden, his indecision resolved his problem for him. The perp got away.

He turned to see Aiden picking herself off the floor. She sheepishly looked up at him and promptly averted her eyes. She hated that he probably thought she was vulnerable. Collecting her breath and courage, she looked him in the eye. Her plan was to thank him, and try to get the hell out of there. She opened her mouth to let out a gracious appreciation speech and found herself babbling, "So all that 'watch out, Tanglewood is dangerous' wasn't bull, huh?" So not how she wanted to thank him. She nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and chose to continue her horribly mangled thank-you. "Umm, thanks for…" Was rescuing too strong a word? "Helping me… not that I'd need it if I wasn't so under the weather…" It sounded ungrateful to Aiden, so she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. After pulling away, she noticed that he was blushing. She convinced herself that it was just the adrenalin coursing through his system. After all, he had just fought a man probably one hundred and fifty pounds heavier than he.

Seeing that Aiden was obviously shaken from the sudden intrusion of privacy, Danny smirked and told her, "Get your stuff. After that, I'm taking you to breakfast."

Overwhelmed by complete gratitude, Aiden leaned over to hug Danny. She intended it to only be a quick hug, but Danny wrapped his strong arms around her and held on tight, burying his face into the top of her head. Aiden let the hug overwhelm her, finally feeling safe.

Phew. Done! Not the entire fic, nincomturd! Just this chapter… Sorry it took so long. I really am! I hate the flu. And strep throat.

I want to add that the shower scene was added for my good buddies who reviewed. Without you guys, this fic would be a lot more boring. Review pour moi, s.v.p!


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